Important!

Please note that this page is informational, and does not replace the official Module Information Pack (MIP). All students attending this module must carefully read the MIP which can be accessed online via Blackboard.

Logistics

Module leader:	Nearchos Paspallis
When and where:	Refer to the timetable (requires login)
Syllabus:	Refer to the Blackboard for the syllabus, assignments, etc (requires login)

Module content

This module runs for 3 weeks and in it students learn a little about most phases of software development including analysis, requirements, APIs, marketing, analytics, testing, tuning, etc. The students learn how to build mobile apps using MIT's AppInventor, and in the end they use their apps to participate in a Treasure Hunt competition. This module is largely based on the 4-week challenge offered at UCLan's Preston campus.

If you are curious to learn more about the API used for forming the Treasure Hunt apps, have a look at the AppEngine-based server at http://uclan-thc.appspot.com.

Learning Outcomes

The main objective of this module is to familiarize students with various aspects related to software production. By the end of the course, students are expected to:

• With tutor assistance, plan and develop an interactive computing related product (e.g. a mobile phone app with database connectivity via the internet);
• Design, discuss and evaluate a user interface for a computer application;
• Discuss the business context in which computer applications are developed, and use the internet to launch a campaign to market a product;
• Prepare and present an academic report and poster.

Resources

Indicative bibliography

Jason Tyler, App Inventor for Android: Build Your Own Apps - No Experience Required, Wiley; 1 edition (April 25, 2011)

David Wolber, Hal Abelson, Ellen Spertus, Liz Looney, App Inventor: Create Your Own Android Apps Paperback, O'Reilly Media; 1 edition (May 10, 2011)

Additional material (including lecture slides and hand-outs) will be available in Blackboard

Collaboration

Students are encouraged to study and learn in groups. However, individual assignments should be the result of their personal effort (unless group work is explicitly asked).

As a principle, you should follow Gilligan's Island Rule: you can discuss assignments with your classmates, but you should not take any notes (electronic or not) from these meetings, in order to be able to fulfil your assignment independently using your own undestanding of the lectures and the group meetings.

General rules

In addition to the general rules of the University, you should also respect the following rules:

• Attending the lectures is mandatory.
• Students should respect the right of their classmates to attend without disruptions or unnecessary interruptions and thus you should not arrive late (or leave early) unless absolutely necessary.
• You are asked to respect the intellectual copyright legislation, concerning copying and using software and books (in electronic or print form).
• Extensions to assignments will not be granted. In exceptional situations, you should consult the Year-1 Tutor.
• Plagiarism is a serious offense. The University uses plagiarism detection software for all assignments and offenders are subject to the University's rules concerning plagiarism. More details about what plagiarism is (and is not) can be found in your MIP, which is available on Blackboard.